In a one-page memo, Sessions rescinded the Obama-era Cole Memo and directed federal prosecutors in states with legal marijuana to decide how aggressively they want to prosecute federal law based on their own judgment.

While many people called this a “seismic shift” in policy, Tenth Amendment Center national communications director Mike Maharrey said it will have almost no practical effect.

“The federal government doesn’t have the personnel or resources to enforce federal marijuana laws in states where cannabis is legal – no matter what Jeff Sessions wants.”

Figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly-budget just to investigate and raid all of the medical dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. This doesn’t include the cost of prosecution. FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. By ending state enforcement of any federal prohibition that is legal under state law, states like Oregon, Colorado and California have swept away most of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests in these states.

“Without state cooperation and support, the feds are essentially impotent when it comes to enforcing its unconstitutional marijuana prohibition,” Maharrey said. “When it comes right down to it, this new policy will be nothing new. It’s just a bunch of wind blowing out of the AG’s office.”

The federal government lacks any constitutional authority to regulate a plant. As Tenth Amendment Center executive director Michael Boldin has pointed out, it took a constitutional amendment to prohibit alcohol. There is no practical difference between alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and marijuana prohibition today.

“In our view, Sessions represents a strain of conservatism which is as much at odds with the Constitution as the Nancy Pelosi end of the spectrum. They have the same approach – disregard or follow it based on their personal political goals.”

This blog is featured in the latest Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

First, and foremost – Merry Christmas! I speak on behalf of the entire TAC team – bloggers, researchers, volunteers – everyone who makes this train push forward: We wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I also wanted to share with you a gift that James Madison left for all of us. Below, you’ll find two links – one to a really interesting article about this gift from Madison, and the other – a link where you can donate to support our work. If there’s ever a time to pitch in to help us stand for the Constitution and liberty – that time is right now. And I cannot say it enough – we are extremely grateful for your support!

On to James Madison.

It was Christmas Eve in 1798, and the Virginia House had already passed resolutions drafted by Madison three days earlier. Introduced by Thomas Jefferson’s great friend John Taylor of Caroline, Madison’s important draft also included the handiwork of Wilson Cary Nicholas.

The resolutions were a rejection of the dangerously unconstitutional Alien and Sedition Acts – pushed through by John Adams and the big-government Federalists of the time.

Here – Madison, Taylor and Nicholas – among others – made the case that states had a duty to interpose against federal encroachments. The Virginia Resolutions read, in part:

In case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them.

Mike Maharrey put together a fantastic article that covers this in more detail – including some interesting inside baseball between Madison and Jefferson. I hope you’ll read it, enjoy it, and share it widely. This is a gift from the “Father of the Constitution” that lasts forever.

Also – as I mentioned above, we’re in a crucial time to build upon the great foundation we’ve set in recent years. In 2018, we’ll be working to support sound money, protect privacy, advance the right to keep and bear arms, stop asset forfeiture – and a lot more.

Once again, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Thank you for reading – and your support!

Concordia res parvae crescunt
(small things grow great by concord)

Michael Boldin, TAC
213.935.0553

]]>29641From the Stamp Act to the Tea Party: What the Old Revolutionaries Can Teach us for Todayhttp://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/12/from-the-stamp-act-to-the-tea-party-what-the-old-revolutionaries-can-teach-us-for-today/
Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:29:55 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29638This blog is featured in today’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

Before today’s big update – a handful of important videos and a short article – a quick reminder: TAC is in the middle of an absolutely crucial time – and we need your help to continue the strong momentum we’ve built in the last 3 years.

Unfortunately, modern historians have not done a good job on that event, almost treating it like an isolated act of rebellion instead of years of actions and correspondence. In fact, until at least the 1960s or so, the “progressive school” of history suggested that we totally ignore the views and works of old revolutionaries like Samuel Adams and James Otis. There’s even an entire book dedicated to this, Samuel Adams: Pioneer in Propaganda.

But understanding what led to that event – and even the Revolution in the following years – helps us better grasp what the Founding generation was trying to do with the Articles of Confederation, and then the Constitution for the United States.

We can also learn a great deal about general principles and nullification strategy for today too.

For example, much of our expanded research into the history of resistance to government power and nullification of unconstitutional acts has led us back to 1765 and the Stamp Act.

The victory against the Stamp Act represents one of the greatest practical applications of nullification in American history. The Colonists defeated the empire utilizing virtually every strategy and direction available – from resolutions and declarations, to protest, resistance and even non-compliance by government officials.

Based on meticulous research by Murray Rothbard in his book Conceived in Liberty, our 3 part video series (8 minutes total) teaches this “People’s Nullification of the Stamp Act” through actions by Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and others.

As we all know, the nullification of the stamp act didn’t put things to rest. Less than 2 years later, Parliament tried another attack on liberty with the Townshend Acts. It’s here that Dickinson wrote his famous “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.” In his first letter, he signed off with the Latin phrase that today is our motto here at the TAC: Concordia res parvae crescunt.

Also in response to the Townshend Acts, Samuel Adams and James Otis penned the “Massachusetts Circular Letter.” In it, they discussed their opposition to the taxes, but also provided a warning for today against this idea of a “living, breathing” constitution.

Our short videos like these have chalked up nearly 3 million views in 2017 alone. We hope you’ll find these to be educational and inspiring as well.

Thank you for reading – and your support!

Concordia res parvae crescunt
(small things grow great by concord)

Michael Boldin, TAC
213.935.0553

]]>29638Today in History: The End of the “Declaration of War” as Required by the Constitutionhttp://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/12/today-in-history-the-end-of-the-declaration-of-war-as-required-by-the-constitution/
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:31:38 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29570This blog is featured in today’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

Most people are aware of the historical significance of Dec 7, 1941 – “Pearl Harbor Day” – but few are aware of the importance of the day after.

Today in history, on Dec. 8, 1941, the United States Congress declared war (Public Law 77-328, 55 STAT 795) on the Empire of Japan in response to that country’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech of FDR.

Although the U.S. has been involved in many wars since then, World War II was the last time Congress declared war, as required by the Constitution (a 2nd declaration was passed on June 5, 1942 against Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania).

Back in August, Mike Maharrey made the point that Congress has “completely abandoned its constitutional responsibility in matters of war and peace.” He’s right – and they’ve done this for decades.

To help explain things further, we put together a reference guide on the Constitution and war powers.

How war powers were separated under the constitution between the executive and legislative branches

Views from Jefferson, Madison and others

There is a lot of information there, but I hope you’ll find this reference guide useful. We plan to publish more in 2018 on other important constitutional topics.

Thank you for reading – and your support!

]]>295707 Lies The Statists Want you to Believehttp://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/11/7-lies-the-statists-want-you-to-believe/
Sun, 26 Nov 2017 02:02:24 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29531This blog is featured in today’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

7 lies? It took me just moments to come up with these. That means there are way more than seven.

Even though there are few tough ones, I’m pretty sure you can smash these lies as easily as I can.

(1) The Constitution’s “general Welfare” clause means Congress can pass whatever it wants to supposedly “help” people around the country.

(2) A President is authorized to get involved in a foreign war without authorization from Congress, as long as it’s for no more than 60 days.

(3) Nullification is code word for “supporting slavery.”

(4) The government can conduct surveillance on anyone as long as they are doing so to protect “national security.”

(5) States are required to help the federal government enforce or enact federal “laws” or regulatory programs.

(6) James Madison opposed nullification, in every situation.

(7) Alexander Hamilton is the founder we should pay attention to more than anyone else.

Ask yourself, can you really give a strong answer to all of these?

If you can, I’m sure you know someone else who can’t.

Either way, we’ve published over TEN THOUSAND articles, blogs, news reports, podcasts and videos to smash these kinds of lies to bits.

That’s a ton of information that we’ve shared over the last 11 years.

We work to educate people on the proper role of government under the Constitution, and activate them to reject, resist and nullify all unconstitutional acts.

Nothing helps us get this work done more than the support of our members. And now through Monday night, we’re taking up to 50 percent off the price of our annual, 5-year and lifetime memberships.

We’ve got a LOT of work yet to do, but with your help, we can build a strong foundation for the Constitution and Liberty.

]]>29531Strategy from James Madison: Four Steps to Stop Federal Programshttp://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/11/strategy-from-james-madison-four-steps-to-stop-federal-programs/
Mon, 13 Nov 2017 13:17:23 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29476This article is last weekend’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

A lot of people tell me their ideas on how to deal with the feds.

Some of them even recommend that TAC drop our entire strategy and instead go with theirs. I’m not saying that none of their ideas have merit, but our primary strategy will continue to focus heavily on advice from James Madison, the “Father of the Constitution.”

Think of it this way.

The Constitution is like an owner’s manual for something in your home. While some of the jargon might be a little confusing, if you have questions, you should go to the people who wrote it for clarification.

Sure, James Madison doesn’t have a toll free number or live chat, but he wrote plenty about how to stop the federal government when it won’t follow the document he was so instrumental in writing.

Although we’ve published versions of this article for a few years now, I believe the educational significance behind it is timeless – that is, advice from the “Father of the Constitution” on how states and individuals should deal with federal overreach.

Please read it, share it, and apply it to issues of federal overreach that are important to you.

Friday, Dec. 15 marks the 226th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights. To celebrate, Arizona Tenth Amendment Center will present the 2017 Bill of Rights Day Celebration at the Orange Tree Resort in Scottsdale.

This engaging presentation will include a solemn reading and discussion of the Bill of Rights and a keynote address by Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick. Other guest speakers include constitutional attorney Joe Wolverton II, Arizona TAC deputy director Michael Gibbs, along with a special appearance by Mr. Patrick Henry, portrayed by Dr. Lance Hurley. Musical entertainment will be provided by The Rolling Cajonez.

No matter where you may fall on the political spectrum, the Bill of Rights is something worthy of celebrating. It protects all of our fundamental rights from unwarranted federal government infringement. In the turbulent world in which we live, the Bill of Rights is as relevant to us today as it was two centuries ago.

Appetizers and a hot buffet are included, cash bar. The Orange Tree Resort is located at 10601 N. 56th Street in Scottsdale.

Tickets are just $25 and are available through our website. Click HERE.

]]>29446Update: Sued by the government, but not backing down!http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/10/update-sued-by-the-government-but-not-backing-down/
Tue, 31 Oct 2017 17:38:19 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29436This article is today’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

When the local government sued TAC communications director Mike Maharrey, they probably figured he’d just back down and shut up about their mass surveillance programs (funded by Washington D.C., of course).

But Mike isn’t one to scare off too easily. We’ve got a number of updates below.

Here’s the back story. On Oct. 9th, we emailed to let you know what was going on. Mike even recorded a short podcast with the details (you can listen here). Here’s an overview:

Mike filed an open-records request to find out what’s going on with surveillance in his city – stingrays, cameras, license plate readers, and the like.

The city released some (with a lot of redactions), but held back a lot.

Mike appealed.

The state Attorney General sided with Mike and told the city to give him the docs.

The city sued Mike over this, asking a court to overturn the AG – and demanding that Mike pay all the legal fees.

For most grassroots activists, this would be a devastating blow – and we realize that governments sue on purpose to deter any resistance to their illegal actions.

Mike isn’t backing down.

Instead, he’s got some heavy-duty legal representation from the ACLU of Kentucky. Plus, joint press releases from our organizations have gotten Mike a number of spots on local radio and TV. The story even made the front page of the local paper.

Once this case gets thrown out, which we believe it will, we expect Mike to start pushing back harder with information he’s found in the documents he already has. From what he’s told me, it’s pretty serious stuff. What they’re holding back is potentially even worse.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky will represent Tenth Amendment Center national communications director Michael Maharrey in a lawsuit filed against him by the City of Lexington after he attempted to obtain documents relating to surveillance cameras owned and operated by the Lexington Police Department (“LPD”).

“Honestly, I think it’s a bullying tactic more than anything,” Maharrey said. “I think the city thought it could just slap me with a lawsuit and I’d go away. Newsflash – I’m not going away.”

The LPD denied Maharrey’s request citing a statute that exempts certain documents relating to homeland security, along with a second statute exempting certain “investigative reports.” On appeal, the Kentucky attorney general’s office rejected both exemptions claimed by the LPD and ordered it to turn over the records. At that point the city sued Maharrey.

“One of the fundamental principles of our government is transparency. The public has a right to know the actions of government officials and disseminate that information to others. City officials appear to be shirking their responsibility to provide records they are obligated to by law, simply because they don’t want the public to have access to them,” ACLU of Kentucky Attorney Heather Gatnarek said.

Maharrey has been involved in efforts at the Tenth Amendment Center to address the growing federal surveillance state through state and local action for several years.

“Edward Snowden revealed the extent of federal surveillance. But it’s not just the NSA spying on Americans. In fact, the foundation of the surveillance state is at the local level. The feds fund all kinds of surveillance technologies, local police operate them, and then the data gets dumped into massive federal databases. One of the most effective ways to stop warrantless, dragnet surveillance is to start in your own neighborhood,” Maharrey said.

With this in mind, Maharrey founded a grassroots organization called We See You Watching Lexington to address surveillance issues in his hometown after the city installed cameras at a park in his neighborhood over the summer. The open records request was part of We See You Watching Lexington’s efforts to learn more about surveillance and ensure some accountability exists.

“It turns out it doesn’t,” Maharrey said. “This lawsuit underscores the need for transparency and oversight when it comes to government surveillance in Lexington. The police clearly want to keep their surveillance programs hidden. We need to push for structural changes that will compel government agencies in Fayette County to operate transparently.”

We See You Watching Lexington is working for the introduction and passage of a local ordinance that would take the first step toward limiting the unchecked use of surveillance technologies that violate basic privacy rights and feed into the broader national surveillance state.

The Tenth Amendment Center, based in Los Angeles, seeks to limit federal power through action in the states and education.

]]>29402CNN Resurrects Old-School Anti-Nullification Hatchet Jobhttp://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2017/10/cnn-resurrects-old-school-nullification-story-template/
Fri, 13 Oct 2017 20:37:31 +0000http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/?p=29378This article is featured in this weekend’s Tenther newsletter, which everyone in the nullification movement gets daily or weekly. Be one of them – and Become a member here to support the TAC.

Andrew Kaczynski and Chris Massie breathlessly reported Alabama Republican congressional candidate Roy Moore “signed onto a resolution in 2010 affirming the right of states to nullify, or void, federal law.”

While the goal was to attack Moore, the tool they used to do so was nullification. We haven’t seen an anti-nullification story following this script in quite a while. But Kaczynski and Massie checked off all the boxes.

Inference that nullification supporters are a bunch of racists – check

John C. Calhoun reference – check

Marginalizing nullification supporters as “extremists” – check

Obligatory quote from an ignorant law professor – check (They doubled down with two!)

Secession reference – check

Civil War reference – check

Of course, Kaczynski and Massie leave out any discussion of Thomas Jefferson or James Madison. You know, the guys who first formalized the principles of nullification. No – it wasn’t Calhoun. (They do bring up Jefferson in reference to secession though.)

Our intrepid reporters claim nullification was “never upheld in federal court,” but fail to mention the anti-commandeering doctrine – the legal principle based on four major Supreme Court opinions dating back to 1842 that supports modern nullification efforts.

Kaczynski and Massie dutifully reminded us that segregationists appealed to nullification during the civil rights era, but conveniently forget to mention northern states successfully nullified the fugitive slave acts in the years leading up to the Civil War.

They report, “Some state legislatures have passed non-binding resolutions asserting their sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment,” but never get around to talking about recent nullification successes such as marijuana legalization and Right to Try laws. Even hard-core progressives have jumped on the nullification bandwagon with so-called sanctuary cities. That’s apparently not on Kaczynski and Massie’s radar.

Ah. Good times. It takes me all the way back to 2010.

In fact, 2010 appears to be when Kaczynski and Massie started and ended their research on this story. It really is quite a time capsule. This was typical of nullification stories back then – before it became widely acknowledged, even within the mainstream media, that states could indeed refuse to cooperate with the enforcement of federal laws and the implementation of federal programs. (See the above-mentioned anti-commandeering doctrine.)

The CNN story revolves around a “Tenth Amendment Summit,” an event the TAC helped organize in 2010. The report references the Tenth Amendment Center and links to our website. Funny though – Kaczynski and Massie never contacted us for the story. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they just couldn’t find our contact information. Except there’s Google. And the fact they linked our website IN THE STORY.

@KFILE It would be good if the next time you do a story citing @TenthAmendment you actually contact us. I learned that in journalism school.

I went to journalism school. I learned you should make every effort to get input from anybody you name in the story. I learned you should do thorough research – like actually reading some of the content on the website you link – so you understand every side of an issue. I learned bias can slip through in what you leave out of a story as well as in what you put in. I learned putting these basic journalistic principles into practice helps keep you from writing stories that make you look like an ignorant boob.

That’s Journalism 101.

Maybe Kaczynski and Massie didn’t take that class. Or maybe they don’t actually care about journalism.